Patients recovering from foot surgery are often required to wear bandages to cover the incision and prevent swelling. The bandages make wearing regular shoes difficult and foot surgery patients often have a specialized shoe for wearing post-operation, which is large enough to expand and accommodate the foot as well as the bandage around the foot. Additionally, post-operative shoes protect and support the foot after surgery. Additionally, these shoes may be required for use in patients suffering foot trauma or injury that requires bandages or stabilization of the foot for an extended period of time.
Conventional shoes, such as by Darco International or AliMed, typically have a rigid sole with a shoe upper that includes a closed heel portion and an opening along the top of the foot through which the patient can insert his foot and bandage. The opening can be closed by multiple hook and loop straps, usually two, which cross over the top of the foot and can be tightened to apply pressure and hold the foot securely. D-rings are often used to allow the user to easily tighten and secure the straps. However, if the straps are too tightly adjusted, constriction occurs at the site of the straps, which are pressed into the user's foot, causing additional swelling and potentially increasing the recovery time. As well, the rigid outsole restricts the patient's normal gait, which is preferred immediately after surgery; however, this continued restriction can hinder the recovery process as time passes.
A normal gait involves movement and bending of the foot over multiple phases, including, for example, heel strike to flat foot, flat foot through mid-stance, mid-stance through heel off, and heel off to toe off. Allowing the patient to slowly return to his normal gait is beneficial to the recovery process because the wound or incision site can be milked to pull fluid out of the foot and prevent swelling. The normal movement of the foot during walking helps alleviate fluid build up around the wound, reducing post-operation swelling and improving the recovery time.
Accordingly, a shoe that provides adjustable flexibility as a patient recovers after surgery is needed to decrease recovery time. Preferably, the shoe will allow the user to eventually walk with a normal gait as the recovery process progresses and can provide a seamless transition back to their normal footwear.